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Description
The ship was constructed in the Oort cloud surrounding the Sol system, with construction beginning circa 2537. Secrecy was ensured by having workers permanently stationed there over several years with a total communications blackout in effect. The ship's massive building expenditures, however, prevented ONI from keeping the Infinity a complete secret. Many senior members of the Admiralty, such as Rear Admiral Saeed Shafiq of UNSC Procurement, were fully aware of the ship's existence at the time of her construction. Eventually the Fleet took control of the vessel rather than the Office of Naval Intelligence. Captain Andrew Del Rio took command of the ship and her pre-commission crew years prior to the end of major hostilities in the war, though CINCONI Margaret Parangosky correctly predicted that Commander Thomas Lasky would eventually supplant Del Rio.

As of March 2553, technology discovered on Trevelyan, a shield world located in the Zeta Doradus system, was planned to be incorporated into the ship. Huragok assistance in refining the ship's slipspace navigation capabilities, in particular, was expected to push the final construction milestones far ahead of schedule. Unlike older warships which had only areas such as a gym or hangar space for Marines and Spartans to train in, Infinity is the first known vessel to include a state-of-the-art virtual reality combat deck capable of replicating environments from across the galaxy, real or hypothetical, using a combination of holography, props, and simulated sensory input fed through a neural interface.

A small number of Spartan-IVs from the new program's first official class were assigned to Infinity in January 2553. Shortly afterward, Insurrectionists led by the former Spartan-IV Ilsa Zane attempted a hostile takeover of the vessel, entering the ship disguised as a construction crew. The attack was repelled, largely due to the efforts of Spartans Sarah Palmer and Edward Davis. This incident exposed Admiral Mattius Drake as the leader of the New Colonial Alliance, and the Spartan-IVs' actions contributed to the establishment of the Spartans as their own branch of service. Additional Spartans were included in the ship's contingent as time progressed and Palmer would later become the commanding officer of the ship's Spartan complement.

With a number of further upgrades to the ship, Infinity's first space trials were undertaken in March 2553 with Del Rio at the helm. In March, Infinity underwent inspection by Admirals Terrence Hood and Margaret Parangosky. By this time many crew changes had been enacted on the ship. Dr. Catherine Halsey was put to work installing the ship's Forerunner slipspace engines, under the supervision of Dr. Henry Glassman, the chief engineer. Many Huragok from Trevelyan had been assigned to the ship, led by Requires Adjustment. Aine was assigned to the ship as a temporary AI. Parangosky met with Del Rio and Lasky, who discussed the current refit shape of Infinity. While aboard the ship, Parangosky and Hood received intel on the ongoing Blooding Years, learning that Vadam Keep, the headquarters of Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, was about to be breached by the Servants of the Abiding Truth. Hood contacted Vadam, who reluctantly agreed to accept Hood's help. After Glassman cleared the ship for combat, it departed for Sanghelios.

When Infinity arrived over Sanghelios, Kilo-Five's prowler UNSC Port Stanley docked with the ship, and Parangosky gave Captain Serin Osman two Huragok, Requires Adjustment and Leaks Repaired, who made several refits to Kilo-Five's Pelican Tart-Cart. Soon, the Sangheili opposition ship Defender of Faith began to assault Vadam; the Elite vessel was easily destroyed. The remaining Sangheili insurgent forces were all but destroyed when Infinity fired her fore MAC gun on their positions, creating a massive crater on the Vadam coastline. Due to Infinity's help in the battle, Vadam was saved and the battle trial was considered successful. Kilo-Five later rejoined the ship's crew.

The UNSC officially commissioned Infinity into service, publicly refocusing her mission on peace and exploration, on February 21, 2557. The following year, this date would be commemorated as "Infinity Day". Infinity was tasked with finding the rest of the Halo Array, and the UNSC forces managed to set up bases on Installation 03 as well as Installation 05 for studying and decommissioning the ringworlds. Furthermore, the Infinity was used to transport a massive Forerunner artifact known as the Composer to Ivanoff Station, a research station in orbit of Installation 03. After an ONI team at Ivanoff Station vanished while researching the Composer, the ship's crew learned the location of the shield world Requiem. During the approach to Requiem, Infinity picked up a distress call from the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn and her two surviving crew, Spartan John-117 and his smart AI companion Cortana. During the attempted rescue, the ship's control systems were hacked by the Didact, the leader of the Forerunners' Promethean Warrior-Servants, and promptly crash-landed on the shield world's surface. The Master Chief rallied scattered reconnaissance personnel and was soon reunited with Commander Lasky, whom he had met decades prior during the Battle of Circinius IV.

Promethean and Covenant forces boarded Infinity while the Didact scoured the ship's mainframe; though the ship's crew did not know at the time, he was searching for the location of the Composer. The Master Chief quickly brought Infinity's point defenses back online, enabling her to destroy two CRS-class light cruisers and to drive off the Didact's Cryptum. Shortly thereafter, Captain Del Rio ordered that Gypsy Company neutralize a network of particle cannons that were suppressing UNSC aircraft in the area; this would allow an approach to the gravity well generator that was keeping Infinity inside the shield world, which in turn would allow the ship to return to Earth to report their findings.[34]
After their return to the ship, John-117 and Cortana told Del Rio that they had encountered an imprint of the Librarian; John insisted that the ship pursue the Didact before he could leave Requiem. Dismissing their claims as the result of rampancy and age, Del Rio ordered that Cortana be removed from service after she temporarily disabled some of the ship's systems. The Master Chief refused and the bridge crew defied the captain's order to arrest the Spartan. Lasky then provided John a Pelican gunship under the guise that it would be used to apprehend the Spartan. Just before the Didact's Cryptum could be rendered vulnerable to Infinity's weapons, a fit of rampancy caused Cortana to release the orb from its impromptu containment structure. This allowed the Cryptum to interface with the Didact's ship, Mantle's Approach, after which the Didact set course for Installation 03. Del Rio gave the order for Infinity to travel back to Earth, while John and Cortana pursued the Didact aboard a Covenant Lich.

Upon Infinity's return to Earth, Del Rio was relieved of command due to his abandonment of the Master Chief on Requiem. Lasky took over as commanding officer, just as Admiral Parangosky had planned. In the meantime, the Didact acquired the Composer from Ivanoff Station near Installation 03 and integrated it into Mantle's Approach.

When the ship arrived in Earth's orbit, Infinity stood ready as the flagship of Battlegroup Dakota, a detachment of the UNSC Home Fleet. SPARTAN-117 informed now-Captain Lasky that he intended to detonate a HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon inside Mantle's Approach, preventing the Composer from being fired against Earth. Once the ship's point-defense guns were neutralized, Infinity used two of her primary MACs to blast holes in the opposing vessel's hull. The Master Chief used one of these openings to enter the ship and eventually defeated the Didact, though not before the Composer digitized the residents of New Phoenix, Arizona, URNA. The ship was successfully destroyed, at the cost of Cortana's life. A Pelican was dispatched to retrieve the Spartan, who then spoke with Captain Lasky before having his armor removed on S Deck for the first time in almost five years.

On February 8, 2558, Infinity returned to Requiem to clear territory for UNSC research bases. The ship and her sub-vessels quickly dispatched a small Covenant task force stationed at the entrance portal and deployed numerous dropships through the opening. A massive joint effort comprising the Navy, Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Spartans began securing areas on the surface from Covenant garrison forces. After a short span of time, Spartan Fireteam Crimson secured a Forerunner artifact from an area known as "the Cauldron" and brought it aboard the ship. When the artifact began disrupting Infinity's power, artificial gravity, and propulsion, Spartan Commander Sarah Palmer was able to disable it. Palmer, Captain Lasky, and Chief Engineer Dr. Glassman then inspected the artifact. Palmer saved Lasky from being translocated along with Glassman to Requiem by the artifact. Sometime later, Dr. Halsey was brought in to examine the artifact, much to Palmer's chagrin. Due to the artifact continuously causing problems for the ship, it then was navigated by Roland, who could accomplish little without human help.

Some time after Gabriel Thorne's disappearance through the translocation artifact, The Infinity was boarded by large numbers of Promethean Knights, followed by Covenant forces. The Covenant created havoc on board the ship, forcing the Infinity to recall all forces on Requiem to defend the ship. Fireteam Crimson was responsible for protecting the engine and server rooms, bringing the weapons systems back online, and even deactivated multiple nuclear warheads cloaked with active camouflage stowed away on the ship, that had been earlier discovered as stolen. It was later discovered that the primary goal of the boarding action was to kidnap Dr. Halsey for Jul 'Mdama. Despite eliminating all boarders, the Infinity remained locked above Requiem due to a slipspace anchor originating from the planet.

Dr. Glassman deduced that the slipspace anchor was being generated by the Forerunner artifact aboard the ship and a pair of similar artifacts on Requiem. If the artifacts on the shield world were deactivated, Infinity would be free. At the same time, Jul 'Mdama set Requiem to collide with its sun, with the anchor pulling the Infinity along with it. Fireteams Majestic and Crimson were quickly dispatched to deactivate the artifacts, in which they succeeded. Once the two fireteams were aboard the ship, Lieutenant James flew the ship away from Requiem on Captain Lasky's order. Infinity made an emergency jump into slipspace as the shield world was consumed by the sun, immediately sending the star into a premature supernova state. The ship emerged intact from the jump, with a number of reported injuries but no major casualties.

In March 3, Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood pulled the UNSC Infinity away from the pursuit of Jul 'Mdama and assigned the ship to escort Thel 'Vadam during negotiations on Ealen IV, between 'Vadam and the Jiralhanae Chieftain Lydus.[44] Commander Bradley had taken Lasky's former place as executive officer by this time. On March 5, during the negotiations, Covenant forces led by Shipmaster Vata 'Gajat attacked the delegates. The UNSC forces on the planet were unable to contact the Infinity because the Covenant were blocking the signal. During the battle, Lasky and Spartan Naiya Ray were able to destroy the generator of the jamming signal and contact Infinity. As Lasky reestablished communications, Bradley informed him that the Sangheili and Jiralhanae ships were about to attack each other. However, Lasky was able to placate the crisis and the fleets eventually rallied with Infinity, forcing the Covenant fleet to retreat. The ambassadors successfully escaped the planet thanks to the sacrifices of Fireteam Bailey and Paul DeMarco, which were later commemorated in a memorial service held aboard Infinity.

Days later, a distress signal originating in the Artesia-702 system was picked up by Infinity. When Infinity arrived in the system on March 11, it found a damaged freighter, the Pilgrims Pride, and tugged it into one of its deployment bays. An ambush was sprung within the bay when the freighter set itself to self-destruct and multiple UNSC assault crafts exited its cargo bay. With the help of Fireteams Majestic, Colossus, and Fenrir, the attack was repelled and the freighter was tugged back into space before it could self-destruct on Infinity. Following the skirmish, Infinity's after action teams discovered that the assault crafts from the freighter's attack were those belonging to the long-lost UNSC Spirit of Fire, a warship missing since February 2531.

Following the lead on Spirit of Fire, Admiral Hood ordered Infinity to Oth Lodon in Jiralhanae space. Instead of the ship, Infinity's crew discovered a Covenant space station operated by New Colonial Alliance insurgents led by Captain Daniel Clayton, the illegitimate son of the Spirit's captain, James Cutter. Infinity sustained tremendous damage from three discharges of the station's glassing weapon, including starboard-to-port hull breaches and fires on the bridge; Commander Bradley was killed and Hood was paralyzed from the waist down. However, Commander Palmer and Fireteam Majestic boarded and captured the station before another blast could be fired, instead turning the weapon on Vata 'Gajat's corvette that was about to destroy Infinity. After the battle, the Infinity was put under repairs and most of its staff was transferred to other duties. In mid-April 2558, over a month after the events at Oth Lodon, the ship was fully repaired.

In May 2558, Infinity was involved in an ONI-commissioned mission to capture a Sangheili wielding a new bioweapon on the unclaimed planet Ven III. Captain Lasky deployed a team of two Spartans, Gabriel Thorne and Naiya Ray, on the planet via a prowler stored aboard Infinity. After Infinity lost communications with the Spartans and a UNSC spy drone on Ven III, Roland proposed that Infinity head toward the planet. Lasky was at first hesitant to involve the ship as he had been ordered to avoid direct engagement, but after Spartan Ray discovered an enormous Kig-Yar pirate operation shortly before being ambushed, he ordered Roland to set course for Ven III and call all Spartan teams on deck.

Upon arriving at Ven III, Infinity was met by the pirates' advance fleet. The ship deployed several Broadswords to counter the fleet as well as a rescue convoy to retrieve the two Spartans on the surface. Infinity successfully repelled the fleet in space while Longswords took out the remaining fleet on the planet as well as the pirates' base. On the surface Ray was about to retrieve the bioweapon from the Sangheili agent but ONI agents arrived in order to retrieve the weapon themselves as well as detain the Elite agent. Thorne and Ray were successfully returned to the Infinity while Lasky and Palmer discussed ONI's intervention at the conclusion of the mission.

Following the bioweapon incident Infinity was deployed to assist in attack against the human colony Oban. Following the battle Infinity made a slipspace jump towards Galileo II base. However the ship suddenly reappeared in an asteroid belt, colliding with an asteroid and causing some damage inside the ship. Infinity jumped to slipspace again, only to reappear a quarter of a kilometer of her last position. Roland told Captain Lasky that it is was inadvisable to make another jump. Dr. Glassman discovered Infinity's slipspace drive was overriding any coordinate except the one of the location in which they were, sticking the ship in a "Slipspace cul-de-sac". In that moment, Roland found an unusual energy reading coming from the equator of an uncharted planet — Aktis IV — near their position. Glassman and Lasky supposed that the location was the source of the problem and Palmer ordered to gather a team and send them with Dr. Glassman to the planet. Unknown to the crew, the ship had been stranded by Dr. Halsey who used a Forerunner artifact to contact Infinity's Forerunner components, including her slipspace drive, and trapped them in the system.

Locating the source of interference to an island on the planet, Palmer, Fireteam Majestic, and Glassman soon discovered a Forerunner artifact in a Forerunner structure. Aktis IV has an ocean consisting of an unidentified substance that was impenetrable to Infinity's sensors. After Glassman discovered that the artifact was seemingly compatible with the Janus Key, the UNSC's half of the Key was sent to the island from Infinity for further analysis. However, the UNSC aircraft carrying the key were shot down by Sali 'Nyon and his splinter group. In the confusion, 'Mdama's fleet, which had avoided detection by hiding in the planet's oceans, rose up and began deploying troops. As the UNSC forces on the planet retreated into the Forerunner structure, Infinity deployed reinforcements. As 'Mdama's fleet engaged Infinity in the planet's atmosphere, the vessel could not establish contact with the UNSC forces inside the Forerunner structure. Later, Infinity succeeded in deployed at least two Mantises to the planet's surface to battle the Covenant forces. Infinity and its Strident-class sub-vessels continued to engage 'Mdama's fleet until the battle eventually drew to a close with Jul's acquisition of both halves of the Janus Key. After picking up the UNSC forces on the surface, Infinity left Aktis IV. Three days later, on July 23, ONI agents arrived onboard in order to interrogate Commander Palmer for her failure to secure the Janus Key and Dr. Halsey.

In October 2558, UNSC Infinity served as mission control for both Fireteam Osiris and Blue Team. After a successful assassination of Jul 'Mdama during the Battle of Kamchatka, Fireteam Osiris returned Dr. Halsey to UNSC custody aboard the Infinity. Shortly afterward, Spartan Blue Team, led by the Master Chief, were sent from Infinity to reclaim the lost ONI ship Argent Moon, but went AWOL after receiving a cryptic message from Cortana and denying Infinity's orders to ignore her calling to Meridian. With the UNSC's most veteran Spartans having deserted, Fireteam Osiris was deployed to arrest them. Osiris returned the following day, though, without Blue Team but with an account of a Guardian awakening on Meridian's surface and Blue Team having escaped on it. Having been tracking previous and current Guardian attacks, Infinity made it their priority to track down the Master Chief by activating an inert Guardian hidden in Sanghelios.

With the aid of the Arbiter and the Swords of Sanghelios, Infinity's forces were able to activate the Guardian and deliver Osiris aboard it. Their achievement and subsequent defeat of Jul 'Mdama's remnant forces came to naught, however, as Osiris followed the Guardians to the planet Genesis and discovered the constructs were part of a plan by Cortana to put the galaxy under the control of AIs. Both Master Chief and Osiris were unable to stop Cortana, and so her Guardians were released to shut down all weapons and technology across the colonies. UNSC Infinity was at Earth to aid defenses, but had to make an emergency jump to slipspace to avoid being shot down by Cortana. With no option left to them but to run, Captain Lasky promised the Infinity would return when the Created could be fought.

Description
The ship was constructed in the Oort cloud surrounding the Sol system, with construction beginning circa 2537. Secrecy was ensured by having workers permanently stationed there over several years with a total communications blackout in effect. The ship's massive building expenditures, however, prevented ONI from keeping the Infinity a complete secret. Many senior members of the Admiralty, such as Rear Admiral Saeed Shafiq of UNSC Procurement, were fully aware of the ship's existence at the time of her construction. Eventually the Fleet took control of the vessel rather than the Office of Naval Intelligence. Captain Andrew Del Rio took command of the ship and her pre-commission crew years prior to the end of major hostilities in the war, though CINCONI Margaret Parangosky correctly predicted that Commander Thomas Lasky would eventually supplant Del Rio.

As of March 2553, technology discovered on Trevelyan, a shield world located in the Zeta Doradus system, was planned to be incorporated into the ship. Huragok assistance in refining the ship's slipspace navigation capabilities, in particular, was expected to push the final construction milestones far ahead of schedule. Unlike older warships which had only areas such as a gym or hangar space for Marines and Spartans to train in, Infinity is the first known vessel to include a state-of-the-art virtual reality combat deck capable of replicating environments from across the galaxy, real or hypothetical, using a combination of holography, props, and simulated sensory input fed through a neural interface.

A small number of Spartan-IVs from the new program's first official class were assigned to Infinity in January 2553. Shortly afterward, Insurrectionists led by the former Spartan-IV Ilsa Zane attempted a hostile takeover of the vessel, entering the ship disguised as a construction crew. The attack was repelled, largely due to the efforts of Spartans Sarah Palmer and Edward Davis. This incident exposed Admiral Mattius Drake as the leader of the New Colonial Alliance, and the Spartan-IVs' actions contributed to the establishment of the Spartans as their own branch of service. Additional Spartans were included in the ship's contingent as time progressed and Palmer would later become the commanding officer of the ship's Spartan complement.

With a number of further upgrades to the ship, Infinity's first space trials were undertaken in March 2553 with Del Rio at the helm. In March, Infinity underwent inspection by Admirals Terrence Hood and Margaret Parangosky. By this time many crew changes had been enacted on the ship. Dr. Catherine Halsey was put to work installing the ship's Forerunner slipspace engines, under the supervision of Dr. Henry Glassman, the chief engineer. Many Huragok from Trevelyan had been assigned to the ship, led by Requires Adjustment. Aine was assigned to the ship as a temporary AI. Parangosky met with Del Rio and Lasky, who discussed the current refit shape of Infinity. While aboard the ship, Parangosky and Hood received intel on the ongoing Blooding Years, learning that Vadam Keep, the headquarters of Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, was about to be breached by the Servants of the Abiding Truth. Hood contacted Vadam, who reluctantly agreed to accept Hood's help. After Glassman cleared the ship for combat, it departed for Sanghelios.

When Infinity arrived over Sanghelios, Kilo-Five's prowler UNSC Port Stanley docked with the ship, and Parangosky gave Captain Serin Osman two Huragok, Requires Adjustment and Leaks Repaired, who made several refits to Kilo-Five's Pelican Tart-Cart. Soon, the Sangheili opposition ship Defender of Faith began to assault Vadam; the Elite vessel was easily destroyed. The remaining Sangheili insurgent forces were all but destroyed when Infinity fired her fore MAC gun on their positions, creating a massive crater on the Vadam coastline. Due to Infinity's help in the battle, Vadam was saved and the battle trial was considered successful. Kilo-Five later rejoined the ship's crew.

The UNSC officially commissioned Infinity into service, publicly refocusing her mission on peace and exploration, on February 21, 2557. The following year, this date would be commemorated as "Infinity Day". Infinity was tasked with finding the rest of the Halo Array, and the UNSC forces managed to set up bases on Installation 03 as well as Installation 05 for studying and decommissioning the ringworlds. Furthermore, the Infinity was used to transport a massive Forerunner artifact known as the Composer to Ivanoff Station, a research station in orbit of Installation 03. After an ONI team at Ivanoff Station vanished while researching the Composer, the ship's crew learned the location of the shield world Requiem. During the approach to Requiem, Infinity picked up a distress call from the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn and her two surviving crew, Spartan John-117 and his smart AI companion Cortana. During the attempted rescue, the ship's control systems were hacked by the Didact, the leader of the Forerunners' Promethean Warrior-Servants, and promptly crash-landed on the shield world's surface. The Master Chief rallied scattered reconnaissance personnel and was soon reunited with Commander Lasky, whom he had met decades prior during the Battle of Circinius IV.

Promethean and Covenant forces boarded Infinity while the Didact scoured the ship's mainframe; though the ship's crew did not know at the time, he was searching for the location of the Composer. The Master Chief quickly brought Infinity's point defenses back online, enabling her to destroy two CRS-class light cruisers and to drive off the Didact's Cryptum. Shortly thereafter, Captain Del Rio ordered that Gypsy Company neutralize a network of particle cannons that were suppressing UNSC aircraft in the area; this would allow an approach to the gravity well generator that was keeping Infinity inside the shield world, which in turn would allow the ship to return to Earth to report their findings.[34]
After their return to the ship, John-117 and Cortana told Del Rio that they had encountered an imprint of the Librarian; John insisted that the ship pursue the Didact before he could leave Requiem. Dismissing their claims as the result of rampancy and age, Del Rio ordered that Cortana be removed from service after she temporarily disabled some of the ship's systems. The Master Chief refused and the bridge crew defied the captain's order to arrest the Spartan. Lasky then provided John a Pelican gunship under the guise that it would be used to apprehend the Spartan. Just before the Didact's Cryptum could be rendered vulnerable to Infinity's weapons, a fit of rampancy caused Cortana to release the orb from its impromptu containment structure. This allowed the Cryptum to interface with the Didact's ship, Mantle's Approach, after which the Didact set course for Installation 03. Del Rio gave the order for Infinity to travel back to Earth, while John and Cortana pursued the Didact aboard a Covenant Lich.

Upon Infinity's return to Earth, Del Rio was relieved of command due to his abandonment of the Master Chief on Requiem. Lasky took over as commanding officer, just as Admiral Parangosky had planned. In the meantime, the Didact acquired the Composer from Ivanoff Station near Installation 03 and integrated it into Mantle's Approach.

When the ship arrived in Earth's orbit, Infinity stood ready as the flagship of Battlegroup Dakota, a detachment of the UNSC Home Fleet. SPARTAN-117 informed now-Captain Lasky that he intended to detonate a HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon inside Mantle's Approach, preventing the Composer from being fired against Earth. Once the ship's point-defense guns were neutralized, Infinity used two of her primary MACs to blast holes in the opposing vessel's hull. The Master Chief used one of these openings to enter the ship and eventually defeated the Didact, though not before the Composer digitized the residents of New Phoenix, Arizona, URNA. The ship was successfully destroyed, at the cost of Cortana's life. A Pelican was dispatched to retrieve the Spartan, who then spoke with Captain Lasky before having his armor removed on S Deck for the first time in almost five years.

On February 8, 2558, Infinity returned to Requiem to clear territory for UNSC research bases. The ship and her sub-vessels quickly dispatched a small Covenant task force stationed at the entrance portal and deployed numerous dropships through the opening. A massive joint effort comprising the Navy, Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Spartans began securing areas on the surface from Covenant garrison forces. After a short span of time, Spartan Fireteam Crimson secured a Forerunner artifact from an area known as "the Cauldron" and brought it aboard the ship. When the artifact began disrupting Infinity's power, artificial gravity, and propulsion, Spartan Commander Sarah Palmer was able to disable it. Palmer, Captain Lasky, and Chief Engineer Dr. Glassman then inspected the artifact. Palmer saved Lasky from being translocated along with Glassman to Requiem by the artifact. Sometime later, Dr. Halsey was brought in to examine the artifact, much to Palmer's chagrin. Due to the artifact continuously causing problems for the ship, it then was navigated by Roland, who could accomplish little without human help.

Some time after Gabriel Thorne's disappearance through the translocation artifact, The Infinity was boarded by large numbers of Promethean Knights, followed by Covenant forces. The Covenant created havoc on board the ship, forcing the Infinity to recall all forces on Requiem to defend the ship. Fireteam Crimson was responsible for protecting the engine and server rooms, bringing the weapons systems back online, and even deactivated multiple nuclear warheads cloaked with active camouflage stowed away on the ship, that had been earlier discovered as stolen. It was later discovered that the primary goal of the boarding action was to kidnap Dr. Halsey for Jul 'Mdama. Despite eliminating all boarders, the Infinity remained locked above Requiem due to a slipspace anchor originating from the planet.

Dr. Glassman deduced that the slipspace anchor was being generated by the Forerunner artifact aboard the ship and a pair of similar artifacts on Requiem. If the artifacts on the shield world were deactivated, Infinity would be free. At the same time, Jul 'Mdama set Requiem to collide with its sun, with the anchor pulling the Infinity along with it. Fireteams Majestic and Crimson were quickly dispatched to deactivate the artifacts, in which they succeeded. Once the two fireteams were aboard the ship, Lieutenant James flew the ship away from Requiem on Captain Lasky's order. Infinity made an emergency jump into slipspace as the shield world was consumed by the sun, immediately sending the star into a premature supernova state. The ship emerged intact from the jump, with a number of reported injuries but no major casualties.

In March 3, Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood pulled the UNSC Infinity away from the pursuit of Jul 'Mdama and assigned the ship to escort Thel 'Vadam during negotiations on Ealen IV, between 'Vadam and the Jiralhanae Chieftain Lydus.[44] Commander Bradley had taken Lasky's former place as executive officer by this time. On March 5, during the negotiations, Covenant forces led by Shipmaster Vata 'Gajat attacked the delegates. The UNSC forces on the planet were unable to contact the Infinity because the Covenant were blocking the signal. During the battle, Lasky and Spartan Naiya Ray were able to destroy the generator of the jamming signal and contact Infinity. As Lasky reestablished communications, Bradley informed him that the Sangheili and Jiralhanae ships were about to attack each other. However, Lasky was able to placate the crisis and the fleets eventually rallied with Infinity, forcing the Covenant fleet to retreat. The ambassadors successfully escaped the planet thanks to the sacrifices of Fireteam Bailey and Paul DeMarco, which were later commemorated in a memorial service held aboard Infinity.

Days later, a distress signal originating in the Artesia-702 system was picked up by Infinity. When Infinity arrived in the system on March 11, it found a damaged freighter, the Pilgrims Pride, and tugged it into one of its deployment bays. An ambush was sprung within the bay when the freighter set itself to self-destruct and multiple UNSC assault crafts exited its cargo bay. With the help of Fireteams Majestic, Colossus, and Fenrir, the attack was repelled and the freighter was tugged back into space before it could self-destruct on Infinity. Following the skirmish, Infinity's after action teams discovered that the assault crafts from the freighter's attack were those belonging to the long-lost UNSC Spirit of Fire, a warship missing since February 2531.

Following the lead on Spirit of Fire, Admiral Hood ordered Infinity to Oth Lodon in Jiralhanae space. Instead of the ship, Infinity's crew discovered a Covenant space station operated by New Colonial Alliance insurgents led by Captain Daniel Clayton, the illegitimate son of the Spirit's captain, James Cutter. Infinity sustained tremendous damage from three discharges of the station's glassing weapon, including starboard-to-port hull breaches and fires on the bridge; Commander Bradley was killed and Hood was paralyzed from the waist down. However, Commander Palmer and Fireteam Majestic boarded and captured the station before another blast could be fired, instead turning the weapon on Vata 'Gajat's corvette that was about to destroy Infinity. After the battle, the Infinity was put under repairs and most of its staff was transferred to other duties. In mid-April 2558, over a month after the events at Oth Lodon, the ship was fully repaired.

In May 2558, Infinity was involved in an ONI-commissioned mission to capture a Sangheili wielding a new bioweapon on the unclaimed planet Ven III. Captain Lasky deployed a team of two Spartans, Gabriel Thorne and Naiya Ray, on the planet via a prowler stored aboard Infinity. After Infinity lost communications with the Spartans and a UNSC spy drone on Ven III, Roland proposed that Infinity head toward the planet. Lasky was at first hesitant to involve the ship as he had been ordered to avoid direct engagement, but after Spartan Ray discovered an enormous Kig-Yar pirate operation shortly before being ambushed, he ordered Roland to set course for Ven III and call all Spartan teams on deck.

Upon arriving at Ven III, Infinity was met by the pirates' advance fleet. The ship deployed several Broadswords to counter the fleet as well as a rescue convoy to retrieve the two Spartans on the surface. Infinity successfully repelled the fleet in space while Longswords took out the remaining fleet on the planet as well as the pirates' base. On the surface Ray was about to retrieve the bioweapon from the Sangheili agent but ONI agents arrived in order to retrieve the weapon themselves as well as detain the Elite agent. Thorne and Ray were successfully returned to the Infinity while Lasky and Palmer discussed ONI's intervention at the conclusion of the mission.

Following the bioweapon incident Infinity was deployed to assist in attack against the human colony Oban. Following the battle Infinity made a slipspace jump towards Galileo II base. However the ship suddenly reappeared in an asteroid belt, colliding with an asteroid and causing some damage inside the ship. Infinity jumped to slipspace again, only to reappear a quarter of a kilometer of her last position. Roland told Captain Lasky that it is was inadvisable to make another jump. Dr. Glassman discovered Infinity's slipspace drive was overriding any coordinate except the one of the location in which they were, sticking the ship in a "Slipspace cul-de-sac". In that moment, Roland found an unusual energy reading coming from the equator of an uncharted planet — Aktis IV — near their position. Glassman and Lasky supposed that the location was the source of the problem and Palmer ordered to gather a team and send them with Dr. Glassman to the planet. Unknown to the crew, the ship had been stranded by Dr. Halsey who used a Forerunner artifact to contact Infinity's Forerunner components, including her slipspace drive, and trapped them in the system.

Locating the source of interference to an island on the planet, Palmer, Fireteam Majestic, and Glassman soon discovered a Forerunner artifact in a Forerunner structure. Aktis IV has an ocean consisting of an unidentified substance that was impenetrable to Infinity's sensors. After Glassman discovered that the artifact was seemingly compatible with the Janus Key, the UNSC's half of the Key was sent to the island from Infinity for further analysis. However, the UNSC aircraft carrying the key were shot down by Sali 'Nyon and his splinter group. In the confusion, 'Mdama's fleet, which had avoided detection by hiding in the planet's oceans, rose up and began deploying troops. As the UNSC forces on the planet retreated into the Forerunner structure, Infinity deployed reinforcements. As 'Mdama's fleet engaged Infinity in the planet's atmosphere, the vessel could not establish contact with the UNSC forces inside the Forerunner structure. Later, Infinity succeeded in deployed at least two Mantises to the planet's surface to battle the Covenant forces. Infinity and its Strident-class sub-vessels continued to engage 'Mdama's fleet until the battle eventually drew to a close with Jul's acquisition of both halves of the Janus Key. After picking up the UNSC forces on the surface, Infinity left Aktis IV. Three days later, on July 23, ONI agents arrived onboard in order to interrogate Commander Palmer for her failure to secure the Janus Key and Dr. Halsey.

In October 2558, UNSC Infinity served as mission control for both Fireteam Osiris and Blue Team. After a successful assassination of Jul 'Mdama during the Battle of Kamchatka, Fireteam Osiris returned Dr. Halsey to UNSC custody aboard the Infinity. Shortly afterward, Spartan Blue Team, led by the Master Chief, were sent from Infinity to reclaim the lost ONI ship Argent Moon, but went AWOL after receiving a cryptic message from Cortana and denying Infinity's orders to ignore her calling to Meridian. With the UNSC's most veteran Spartans having deserted, Fireteam Osiris was deployed to arrest them. Osiris returned the following day, though, without Blue Team but with an account of a Guardian awakening on Meridian's surface and Blue Team having escaped on it. Having been tracking previous and current Guardian attacks, Infinity made it their priority to track down the Master Chief by activating an inert Guardian hidden in Sanghelios.

With the aid of the Arbiter and the Swords of Sanghelios, Infinity's forces were able to activate the Guardian and deliver Osiris aboard it. Their achievement and subsequent defeat of Jul 'Mdama's remnant forces came to naught, however, as Osiris followed the Guardians to the planet Genesis and discovered the constructs were part of a plan by Cortana to put the galaxy under the control of AIs. Both Master Chief and Osiris were unable to stop Cortana, and so her Guardians were released to shut down all weapons and technology across the colonies. UNSC Infinity was at Earth to aid defenses, but had to make an emergency jump to slipspace to avoid being shot down by Cortana. With no option left to them but to run, Captain Lasky promised the Infinity would return when the Created could be fought.